“My name is Anthony Meara, from Manchester, and I’m 42.”

Some may know him as ‘Turbo’ on YouTube, a nickname from his previous time spent on the streets of Manchester.

Born in 1983, Anthony grew up in quite a large family in Greater Manchester.

“I’ve got 2 brothers and 1 sister, and then there’s another 4 brothers… but we grew up separate.”

Anthony’s early childhood memories were filled with family gatherings, parties, events, and visits to his gran and granddad’s house. His parents both worked, and so his granddad would come up frequently to babysit.

“On the weekend, we’d go to gran and grandads house, at these family gatherings and that, there was always parties and that. It was good though, with lots of cousins, it was a lot of fun.”

But alcohol crept in.

“My aunties and uncles were always drinking, so bits would be left about, and I’d just drink the leftovers that people had left. ‘Can I get rid of this and that glass for you?’ and you know, just drink it on the way to the kitchen.

“But with me I just had a craving, once you’ve had one, just wait for the next one. I would be going round scouting for the next drink, when people had gone to the toilet, drinking this and that, and being sick at the end of the day. My mum worked at a pub and sometimes on Saturdays, we would go down to the pub whilst my mum was working, and when she went in the back, I was just taking beers out of the fridge for later. Then it started with drinking with my mates and that on the weekend, during school, but it was the mental obsession, and you know, just couldn’t wait for the next weekend. So that affected all our schoolwork and that you know, because we were just constantly thinking about getting through the week, and then, weekend. And that would involve alcohol and smoking a bit of weed. In the early stages, I was like 14/15.”

Anthony talked about the effects of friends around him; after his family moved from Langley to Blackley, Anthony continued seeing his friends from his old school at night, whilst being around his new friends during the day. Yet it was those friends who he spent time with at night, who he drank with.

“I don’t think you ever realise, until you know what you suffer with, I don’t think you ever think that you’re an addict. But I got kicked out of school at the age of like 15/16, during the last year. Then I got a job then, working with a few of the lads that I knew from the estate. That’s when alcohol and drink started to take off, that’s when I was introduced to cocaine and ecstasy. That’s when it became a daily occurrence, going to the pub after work, not just at weekends.”

Anthony worked there for several years before having to leave, as he was unable to keep up due to his drinking. His next job working as a truck driver, was also affected by his using, but it was during this time that he met Nicola, the mother of his two daughters and one son. However, just like the other areas of his life, his relationship with Nicola was soon impacted by his addiction – Anthony had been in and out of prison many times and the couple split.

On one occasion, after coming out of prison, Anthony left the family home to get a place of his own, but again, his addiction infected his property, resulted in Anthony finding himself on the streets.

Homeless.

“That was about 7 years ago. I was in an out of hostels, and then back to jail through, um, just being a knob in society. In the last 2/3 years I’ve been on the streets of Manchester, know what I mean, and then it was this year that I went in jail again – I think I’m quite grateful this time –this time I was just saying I need to sort my life out, and that’s when rehab got mentioned. But even with rehab being mentioned and me knowing that I was going to rehab, I was still thinking about using drink and drugs, for the week before going. I thought I’d get released from jail and just have a week. But I got picked up straight from jail into rehab, no time to use.”

And so earlier last year, Anthony entered the THOMAS residential rehabilitation facility in Blackburn, finishing in November 2025. The residential rehabilitation programme provides a challenging but caring environment for men to effectively address their drug & alcohol problems. It offers service users the opportunity to rebuild their lives by finding a solution to addiction and providing the tools and life skills to enjoy a life through recovery.

“I never try and think now ‘Ah I should’ve done it sooner’ because then it’s always a case of being in your own head then, thinking what would it have been like. All I think about is I’m at this point now. So, I try not to think of the past because the past is the past, and I don’t even try and think too much into the future I just want to be present in the moment.”

Since coming out of rehab, Anthony has made quite a name for himself in the local area. He partnered with Billy Moore, creator of ‘The All or Nothing Podcast’, filming a short Youtube documentary  about his recovery journey and received over 167, 000 views on YouTube as of December 2025. Anthony also completed at 10K run (in under an hour) in Blackburn for a homeless charity, and volunteers at SPARK, a major drug and alcohol support service for Blackburn with Darwen.

“Try my best and doing everything I can and put 100% in. I’ve got my family back, linking up with my two daughters, my son is back in my life, I’m speaking to my other family members and siblings – living a life that I never thought possible.”

With over 6000 followers on TikTok (@turbo0531) – despite only opening the account a few months ago – Anthony goes on to encourage others about recovery, showing them what is possible when you are determined to change your life, posting content about his daily life, family and friends, as well as his recent achievements, including being a finalist for the One Voice Awards Dinner Man of the Year 2026. 

“[Rehab] was like a little holiday to change your life. Anyone who’s willing to change, there is a solution and if you’re willing to put the graft in, the things you never thought was possible, become possible.”